Cole Hall was packed to overflowing as the UCSF School of Dentistry community gathered for the 13th Research and Clinical Excellence Day on Thursday, Oct. 15.
The day opened with words of welcome from Michael McMaster, PhD, Chair of the Research and Clinical Excellence Day Committee; UCSF School of Dentistry Dean John D.B. Featherstone, MSc, PhD; and UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood, MBBS.
Robert H. Lustig, MD, MSL, Professor of Pediatrics, UCSF Division of Endocrinology, plenary speaker, presented on “Tooth Decay and Liver Decay: the Nexus of Doctors and Dentists.” Dr. Lustig is reknown for his research on the negative health impact of sugar, and noted that dentists were on the frontier of identifying the risks of sugar consumption.
The morning and afternoon oral presentations were chaired by UCSF Dentistry faculty Ann Lazar, PhD, MS and Kjeld Aamodt, DDS, MS. Oral presenters included Jeremy Horst, DDS, PhD, Jin Wan Kim, Dongkook Lim, Helen Nguyen, Brianna Devito, Caleb Tam, Conrad Drinkwater, Michael Le, DDS and Joseph Kwan-Ho Yun.
The Faculty Research Lecturer Award was presented to Ophir Klein, MD, PhD, Professor and Chair of the Divisions of Craniofacial Anomalies and Orthodontics and the Director of the Program in Craniofacial Biology. The Mentor of the Year Award was presented by the John C. Greene Society to Stefan Habelitz, PhD.
Prior to closing remarks by Dr. McMaster and a well-attended reception amid student posters at the Millberry Union gym, the day concluded with the announcement of winners and presentation of awards by Associate Dean for Research Thomas Lang, PhD.
Award Winners:
Research Associate: Benjamin Cheung
Postdoc Category
- First Place: Elaine Emmerson, PhD
- Second Place: Jeffrey Van Haren, PhD
- Third Place: Karina Carneiro, PhD
Graduate Category
- First Place: Sarah Anne Wong
- Second Place: Kei Katsura
- Third Place: Jacob Simon
Predoc Category
- First Place – The Ernest Newbrun Award for Research Excellence: Wendy Fu
- Second Place: Caleb Tam
- Third Place: Brianna Devito
Mentor of the Year: Stefan Habelitz, PhD
Photo Gallery:
Research and Clinical Excellence Day Photo Gallery